In the game of golf, various obstacles are presented on the course to make successful play more challenging. These may include overgrown vegetation, sand traps, and water hazards. When the ball can be seen, but not reached conveniently, such as in a body of water, the player may be confronted with the loss of the costly ball or employing various implements to retrieve the ball. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,188;409 issued Feb. 12, 1993 to Ferey provides a review of the prior art golf ball retrievers, which are complex and expensive. The retrievers of the prior art generally have a ball receiving aperture that is only slightly larger than the ball diameter. In order to operate these devices successfully, the user must be able to locate the ball and position the retriever over it quite precisely. Because of the refraction of light at the water air interface, this is not easily done. Furthermore, the water surface may be disturbed by wind, also hindering precise positioning of the retriever. Any moving parts are easily disturbed by the sand, mud and other elements to which the device will be exposed in normal operation.
Some retrievers of the prior art employ a spring across the entrance plane to removably reduce the entrance plane dimensions to prevent passage of the ball. Pressure of the ball displaces the spring momentarily enough to pass the ball. These devices employ tension springs whose ends are anchored by passing through holes and bending closed. Every time the spring is displaced, it pulls these ends at the fastening. When the user is pulling the ball free, he may inadvertently pull the spring with it. This may break the spring free at its end or so distort the spring that it no longer closes off the entrance plane. Molding or casting a retriever head with transversely directed holes for the spring ends requires an expensive mold or post molding operations.